ENVIRONMENTAL health officers temporarily shut down a shop in Elgar Avenue after police reported it was selling dairy produce that had gone off.

The shop was reopened the same day after the bad produce was spoilt by having ink poured on it.

Stephanie Ingram, from Malvern Hills District Council's environmental health department, said the shop owner handed over the bad produce voluntarily when officers visited the premises.

She explained that in high temperatures, like Malvern experienced last month, fridges have to work especially hard to keep things cool.

In this case, the dairy fridge in the shop was not efficient enough to remain cool in the unusually hot weather and so the produce had turned bad.

Shop manager Kandiah Pradasparan said the fridge was still in use for drinks, as it works, but is not cold enough to store dairy produce in.

Police spotted the problem after visiting the shop while on patrol.

They had held a meeting with the local residents' association during which issues about litter problems in the area were raised.

Officers were taking video footage of the street as part of a partnership approach to tackling the problem, which will now be looked into.

A police spokesman said: "The results will be presented at a forthcoming review meeting and methods of dealing with the problem will be identified for early implementation."

He said the proposals are likely to include extra litter bins and increased anti-litter patrols, which would be undertaken by street scene wardens from Malvern Hills District Council.